Showtime renews 'The Borgias' for second season

Showtime has renewed its lavish new period drama The Borgias for a second season.

The series, starring Jeremy Irons as a scheming pope, will return for 10 more episodes in the summer of 2012. “The Borgias has become Sunday night appointment viewing for a broad swath of our subscribers,” said Showtime president David Nevins. “Neil Jordan’s cleverly crafted tale of a 15th century papal family has proven quickly addictive. It’s a tribute to his incredible skills as an auteur and to the extraordinary cast led by Jeremy Irons that this show fits so seamlessly into our line-up of quality shows.”

Showtime points out that The Borgias has been pacing ahead of the final season of The Tudors in the ratings, averaging 1.1 million viewers per week. The pickup comes on the heels of HBO renewing their new costume drama last week, Game of Thrones.